A man bitten by a venomous snake had his arm sliced with a razor blade while receiving treatment from a shaman.
Parafulla Majhi, 28, went to seek help from local shaman, Sarbeswar Pradhan, after he was attacked by a venomous snake.
He was bitten in the right arm when he was in Ranapur near Nayagad, Odisha, east India, last Tuesday.
Video of his visit to the shaman shows Sarbeswar chanting mantras and praying with neem leaves.
He even cut the snake bite wounds with a razor blade in an effort to 'bleed the poison'.
The shaman then stabs several times all around Parafulla's wrist and arm before brushing the blood off with the neem leaves.
The unorthodox ritual was stopped by members of the Snake Helpline charity who rushed to rescue the man after hearing about the 'treatment'.
The charity workers had a row with the shaman and forcibly took Parafulla to a hospital.
The patient was administered with snake anti-venom and discharged two days later.
General Secretary of Snake Helpline Subhendu Malik said: "Cutting the the bite site with a blade is an old method and very harmful. It makes makes the wound difficult to manage and increases risk of secondary infections."
"The shaman should be arrested for endangering the victim," Subhendu added.
